Although initially gold findings were rather modest, gradually words reached other people around Australia and elsewhere in the world who became interested in gold prospecting. Newspaper articles began featuring excited faces looking at shiny finds of gold nuggets, not just in Western Australia, but all across Australia. Before , gold nuggets were only sold to registered gold buyers, who would melt down the gold. After , gold nuggets could be freely traded for the first time.
In the late s, gold price increased substantially. Prospectors, mineral collectors and investors began seeking out rare gold nuggets, which were worth a premium over the average price of gold. Nugget jewellery in the form of pendants, earrings and bracelets began to appear available in Kalgoorlie and Perth, and quickly raised in popularity among Australians. Early miners had to rely primarily on dry blowing, a method of separating alluvial gold that is less efficient than traditional water-based separation methods.
As a result, only the richest patches, in the order of at least 1 ounce of gold per tonne of rock mined, were valuable and mined. This represented a great opportunity for early metal detectors, as much of the lower grade gold was left behind. The early prospectors of Western Australia belonged to a later era, compared to the Eastern States.
Tin cans of bully-beef replaced mutton chops or salted meta; bicycles and barrows replaced horses; coins and paper money were often in short supply and trading tokens were no longer accepted. The mix of nationalities and races were also different from those in the East.
The Afghans were brought to Australia to manage the camel transport, and, because of riguous restrictions, fewer Chinese made their way into Western Australia. For many Australians and other visitors from all around the world , gold prospecting in Western Australia represents a great opportunity to engage in a four wheel driving adventure, visit the Australian Outback and let in some red dust, sip tea made from bore water and, with a bit of luck, strike it rich!
The gold prospective area in Western Australia is very large, and new fields are constantly being discovered. Gold occurrences stretch in a broad line from Norseman in the south, through Kalgoorlie, Leonora, Wiluna, Meekatharra, Nullagine, Marble Bar, Halls Creek, and west to the beaches of Karratha on the northwest coast. Even today, in , three-rut tracks are routinely encountered.
Old cow bells, harness buckles, pots and pans are found, meaning that the person prospecting that ground might well be the first to prospect in that area with a modern metal detector since the early prospectors first worked the area at the turn of the century. However, such areas become increasingly harder to find. Having said that, it is important to note that areas previously scanned with metal detectors become prospective once again as technology improves.
A prospective patch that was cleared 10 years ago might well be prospective once again using a modern metal detector. Return to home page from Where to Find Gold page. This Website is Continually Changing So please bookmark us and come back regularly.
Where there is Old Gold Mines Where gold has been found before then there is either Primary or Secondary gold in the area. Active mining areas or former active mining areas. Old detector holes and Chain marks Machine scraping and pushing of the ground, costeans. Old mining shafts and open cuts. Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
Click on the HTML link code below. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable. Metal detectors are now sophisticated enough to operate effectively in fresh water and salt water environments and at depths up to feet. This development allows divers to search for valuable metal objects from the shallow shoreline into deeper water.
Perhaps you might want to combine your interests or develop new interests in both metal detecting and snorkelling or scuba diving. This means that the speed that you sweep the coil across the ground should be slow, and the coil should pass across the ground in an even sweep that is as close to the ground as possible.
This involves the detector compensating for the natural, background mineralolgy of the ground over which you are sweeping. Small, sub-economic gold carrying ore fields can often be very productive for an individual prospector even where these locations are unsuitable for large commercial exploration companies.
In addition, due to the economics of the larger-scale gold extraction industry, the bigger explorers can move on to richer tenements before all the available gold is exhausted.
Always remember, just because you have invested in your new metal detector and other prospecting equipment, you do not have the right to stroll onto private property.
If you are detecting at sports grounds, city parks, or other public facilities, you may need permission from the local Council. However, the good news is that prospecting licences and other permissions are generally inexpensive and easy to obtain.
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